I had known since I was little that I would be going to college to get a degree, although the degree of choice changed a little over the years, from marine biology to architecture to engineering. I was fortunate to have parents that told me I could be and do anything that I wanted, and supportive mentors and teachers throughout high school. When I got to college, things changed a little…

Girl on girl crime is rampant. I am consistently asked during my trainings and coaching sessions why women are often the harshest critics of other women. The multi-layered problem is driven by the idea of scarcity: that there are only a few spots at the top for women, and in order to obtain a coveted place on the podium, you must compete with other women. The commodifying language often used in male dominated work spaces further contribute to this myth: Which one are you? The one from Michigan or Northwestern? As though the leadership team is comparing tomatoes at a farmer’s market when talking about the few women on the team.

My high school career aptitude test said I should be a fish & game warden. After frantically googling what that meant, it was clear that my responses on the “Do you like the outdoors?” section may have skewed the results.

Obviously, a test can’t tell you what your life’s work should be, but I so desperately wanted clear direction that I briefly considered this career path. Alas, a jumpy person alone in the woods does not mix well with firearms. So fish & game warden was out. On to the next idea.

Trial and error would become the theme of the next few years of my life. I changed my major multiple times in college before graduating with degrees in Economics and Marketing. I took a job in sales, got promoted twice, and quit within three years. I tried to “find myself” by traveling around Europe for a few months. You get the idea. I was literally and figuratively all over the map.

The TV show "Mad Men" shows, in part, the journey of Joan Holloway from stereotypical secretary who dreams of nothing more than being the pampered housewife of a wealthy doctor into a bad-ass single mother and entrepreneur. Through the course of the show, she manages to climb the ranks until she becomes a partner in her firm and even brings in her own clients. At the end of it, her company is taken over by a larger company which refuses to take her seriously and essentially pushes her out simply for being a woman in a high power position.

On Tuesday, May 1, 2018, Women for Women International celebrated the courage of women everywhere at their 10th annual Match Her Courage Luncheon in New York City.

Internationally-acclaimed author and spiritual teacher, Marianne Williamson, joined the event as an ambassador for Women for Women International. When asked what this event means to her, she said, “If we want peace, we can have it. It’s not a mystery; it’s a lack of political will. There is no force more important than the awakening of American women to what’s happening in the world.”

Mother’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate the wonderful women in our lives who love and care for us unconditionally. Women who bring us hope, joy and meaning. Women who comfort us when we’re sad and know just the thing to make us laugh. Women who walked before us to give us a better life.

This Mother’s Day, consider giving another woman a better life. As we celebrate and honor the women who made an impact on us, we can partner with Women for Women International to make an impact on the world.

Equal Pay Day symbolizes how far into the year women must work to earn what men earned in the previous year. This year, that date fell on April 10th, meaning women must work more than 3 extra months to earn an equal salary to our male counterparts.

The gender pay gap – which states that women, on average, make 77 cents for every dollar that men earn – is often mocked as a myth, a mistake or a lie. And not just by men; my female boss didn’t believe me when I shared this statistic with her.

In a recent blog post, I shared an even more deflating statistic: at this rate, gender parity is over 200 years away!